TOKYO, JAPAN – The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) awarded Anaheim the 2019 Youth World Championships. The IWF Youth World Championships showcases the best athletes in the World aged 17 and under, and this will be the second IWF World Championship event Anaheim will host within the next three years.

Later this year (Nov. 28-Dec. 5), the Anaheim Convention Center (ACC) will serve as the venue for the 2017 IWF World Championships, and in 2019 it will host the IWF Youth World Championships, marking the first time ever that the United States and Anaheim will host the IWF Youth World Championships. The ACC is no stranger to sporting events, having also played host to the Wrestling competition during the 1984 Olympic Games.

“Hosting the 2019 IWF Youth World Championships and the future of weightlifting in Anaheim is an absolute honor,” said Jay Burress, President & CEO, Visit Anaheim (image, left). “It is our mission to support the next generation of superstar athletes – and hosting weightlifting’s best youth athletes would help us fulfill that mission.”

“We truly appreciate the trust of the Weightlifting community to host another World Championship level event, this time for the best youth in the World,” USA Weightlifting CEO Phil Andrews said. “There is no better place in the U.S. than Anaheim to hold a Youth Championship with Disneyland right across the street. We look forward to welcoming the World’s strongest teenagers to Anaheim in two years.”

“In our aim to become a strong partner of the IWF we appreciate the trust they put in us to host another event,” said Ursula Garza Papandrea, USA Weightlifting President & IWF Vice President.